India’s steel industry continues to defy global trends, with rising output and soaring iron ore imports reflecting the country’s rapid infrastructure growth and manufacturing push.
According to a recent report, India imported 4.57 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore in the first five months of FY25—almost matching the total imports for all of 2023. This trend signals growing reliance on imported premium ore to blend with lower-grade domestic supply, despite India being the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer with a domestic output of 289 million tonnes in 2024–25. Industry analysts suggest that imports may need to rise to 100 million tonnes annually by 2030 to meet steelmaking demand, especially as India’s domestic mining and transport infrastructure remains under pressure.
Simultaneously, a report highlights India’s remarkable 33 per cent increase in steel output between 2019 and 2024, even as global production declined by around 1 per cent. This makes India a rare bright spot in an otherwise sluggish global steel market. The surge is largely attributed to robust government spending on infrastructure, increased urbanisation, and expanding industrial capacity. Steel consumption in India has been growing at a 7–8 per cent CAGR, outpacing GDP growth.
To safeguard this growth, the government imposed a 12 per cent safeguard duty on flat steel imports in April 2025. This policy aims to maintain pricing stability and reduce dependence on overseas supplies.
India’s ambitious steel roadmap, backed by rising output and strategic resource imports, is positioning the country as a major player in the global steel ecosystem.
